More bereaved Sussex parents are asking for an independent review into why their babies died following a New Statesman and BBC News investigation. In a letter sent to the Health Secretary on 20 February, the “Truth for Our Babies” families called for the review to be “no longer subject to a limit on the number of cases included”.
This publication revealed that the deaths of at least 55 babies might have been avoided at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust had they received better care. In the letter, signed by 19 bereaved families and seen by the New Statesman, the TFOB group say they have identified a further seven families whose babies are not included in those figures. This is because the deaths either occurred after 2023, or were not judged by the trust’s interval reviews to have included shortfalls in care. The group told our investigation that in at least half of cases in which external investigations or legal action indicated there had been care failings, internal reviews had said there were none.
Writing to the Secretary of State, Wes Streeting, the Sussex families ask that he come to Brighton to meet them face-to-face. They argue that it is “clear that the failings at University Hospitals Sussex are comparable in scale to those at Leeds”, where it was found that the deaths of 56 babies may have been preventable between 2019 and mid-2024. “You have met with those families twice,” the Sussex letter says, with a third meeting taking place on 23 February. “We deserve and respectfully ask for the same opportunity to share our experiences and discuss our review with you in person.”
Leeds families, like those in Sussex, have been promised an independent review into their care. Streeting confirmed Sussex’s review in June 2025, and committed to a Leeds inquiry the following October. But in both cases the investigations have yet to begin. The major sticking point is around who will lead them.
Last time Leeds families met with Streeting, they spoke for three and a half hours, urging him to appoint Donna Ockenden to lead the review. Ockenden, a former midwife, chaired the investigation into maternity care at Shrewsbury and Telford, and is now in the final stages of a major inquiry into Nottingham’s maternity services.
Sussex families want the same. They believe that only Ockenden can “deliver the accountability, justice and change” they and their babies deserve. The Department of Health and Social Care put forward three suggestions for who could chair the Sussex investigation in November 2025. The TFOB have used this letter to formally respond. “The three individuals your team has proposed… do not have prior experience leading such a review,” they say. “Given the sensitive nature of the review, we are understandably cautious about risking our mental wellbeing on a chair and team who would need to build their knowledge and approach from the ground up. We are suffering from the trauma of losing our babies through poor care. We cannot, and will not, risk any further unnecessary trauma or harm being done to us.”
The letter argues that Donna Ockenden can “hit the ground running” with pre-existing protocols and processes and, the families say, she and her team have said they are “willing and able to take on the Sussex review.” However, the document points to a major difficulty that now confronts the Health Secretary. Streeting has praised Ockenden’s work on several occasions, but has said he wants to move away from a “single point of success” in maternity investigations. The TFOB group write that while they understand this, “families must come first.” “We and our babies do not deserve to be guinea pigs for an untested methodology or investigation team starting from scratch,” they insist.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told the New Stateman: “Every family who has lost a baby deserves answers, and we are determined to ensure they get them. We are actively working with families in Sussex to appoint a chair and agree terms of reference for this vital review.” Having received the families’ letter, the DHSC is “carefully considering the scope of the review, including their request that it should not be limited in the number of cases included.” The spokesperson added that they were confident that this review, combined with Baroness Amos’ rapid review of University Hospitals Sussex – which forms part of her wider national investigation – “will together build a clear picture of maternity issues at the Trust.”
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